On the role of theory and modeling in neuroscience
Year: 2020
Type: preprint
Abstract: : In recent years, the field of neuroscience has gone through rapid experimental advances and extensive use of quantitative and computational methods. This accelerating growth has created a need for methodological analysis of the role of theory and the modeling approaches currently used in this field. Toward that end, we start from the general view that the primary role of science is to solve empirical problems, and that it does so by developing theories that can account for phenomena within their domain of application. We propose a commonly-used set of terms - descriptive, mechanistic, and normative - as methodological designations that refer to the kind of problem a theory is intended to solve. Further, we find that models of each kind play distinct roles in defining and bridging the multiple levels of abstraction necessary to account for any neuroscientific phenomenon. We then discuss how models play an important role to connect theory and experiment, and note the importance of well-defined translation functions between them. Furthermore, we describe how models themselves can be used as a form of experiment to test and develop theories. This report is the summary of a discussion initiated at the conference Present and Future Theoretical Frameworks in Neuroscience, which we hope will contribute to a much-needed discussion in the neuroscientific community.
Authors: Levenstein, Daniel, Alvarez, Veronica A., Asohan Amarasingham, Azab, Habiba, Gerkin, Richard C., Hasenstaub, Andrea, Ramakrishnan Lyer, Jolivet, Renaud B., Marzen, Sarah, Monaco, Joseph D., Prinz, Astrid A., Quraishi, Salma, Santamaria, Fidel, Sabyasachi Shivkumar, Singh, Matthew F., Stockton, David B., Traub, Roger, Rotstein, Horacio G., Farzan Nadim, A. David Redish
Institutions: New York University, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, The Graduate Center, CUNY, City College of New York, City University of New York, University of Minnesota, Arizona State University, University of California, San Francisco, Allen Institute for Brain Science, University of Geneva, Claremont McKenna College, Scripps College, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Emory University, The University of Texas at San Antonio, University of Rochester, Washington University in St. Louis, IBM Research - Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, Sandler Foundation, University of Texas at San Antonio, European Commission, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Nanjing Institute of Technology, National Institutes of Health, Directorate for Biological Sciences, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Army Research Office
Awards: Ionic Neuromodulation For Epilepsy Treatment, G299654051, G375135976, NCS-FO: Spatial Intelligence for Swarms Based on Hippocampal Dynamics, Workshop: Present and Future Theoretical Frameworks in Neuroscience, G4413673155, US-Israel Research Proposal: Network Resonance: Revealing the Neuronal Mechanisms, Synaptic trading: energy savings versus information, Dynamic regulation of auditory context processing by cortical inhibition, Training a new generation of computational neuroscientists bridging neurobiology and cognition, G7058454103, G8560314785, G9000165291, G9000177255, G9000268024, Testing hybrid theories of action-selection, Synaptic mechanisms underlying reward seeking and compulsive drug use, Modulation of Neuronal Oscillations, Interagency BRAIN Intitiave Awardees Meeting in Bethesda, MD, November 20-21, 2014
OpenAlex ID: W6893732210